University of Washington safety Taylor Rapp, seen at the NFL Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium on March 4, 2019 in Indianapolis, was selected by the Rams in the second round of the NFL draft Friday. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)

After trading down, then trading down, then trading down again, the Rams finally decided to enter the draft fray. They’d waited longer than most – 30 picks on the first day, 30 more on the second – longer than all but one other NFL team (Chicago).

But at the end of that lengthy delay, after three trades and nearly two full rounds of will-they-or-won’t-they, the Rams were on the clock again Friday night, and a player they’d been eyeing all along somehow remained.

This time, the Rams decided they couldn’t wait any longer. With the 61st pick, they selected Washington safety Taylor Rapp, a prospect few within the Rams facility expected to last deep into the second round.

So the Rams finally stood pat long enough to make a pick. But they wouldn’t stay idle for long. After trading back three times before making their first selection, the Rams changed course and traded up for two of their next three picks.

Up and down the draft board they flew, like their own personal personnel rollercoaster. After trading down from 31 to 45, then 45 to 56, then 56 to 61 — adding three additional picks along the way — the Rams packaged two late third-rounders (94 and 99) to jump up into the beginning of the third round for Memphis running back Darrell Henderson. They used the 79th pick, earned from their first trade of the draft, to select Michigan cornerback David Long. And before the third round was over, they traded up again — this time, for developmental Oklahoma tackle Bobby Evans.

In all, the Rams would pick four times in the top-100, which, as Rams general manager Les Snead would explain, was exactly their strategy heading into this draft.

“The entire intention was to get as many shots at the basket as possible in the top-100,” Snead said, and as promised, the Rams moved around plenty before finally taking those shots.

In all, they traded five times in the draft’s first three rounds, matching their highest total for draft-day trades during Snead’s tenure.

But in spite of all that draft board manipulation, it took a significant, unexpected tumble for Rapp to still be available when the Rams picked at No. 61. An All-American safety from Washington, Rapp was considered by some to be a first-round prospect. His production – 171 tackles, seven sacks and seven interceptions over three seasons in Seattle — ranked among the best in his class at the position. But a slow 40 time at his Pro Day, in conjunction with concern over a hip injury suffered in January, apparently depreciated his draft stock.

Which was just fine with Rams brass. McVay described Rapp as “one of the top-rated guys we had,” while Snead called him “one of my favorite players in the draft.” Neither expected him to last until the 61st pick, but both acknowledged that his 40 time might’ve had something to do with that fortuitous fall.

That’s not to suggest they have any doubts. McVay shrugged away concern over the 4.77 40 time that Rapp registered at his Pro Day, while Rapp wrote off the time as “bizarre”, adding that he’d run faster than that in the midst of rehabbing his hip last January.

“When you watch the tape, this guy sure plays fast,” McVay said. “Very rarely do you ask a safety to straight-line run 40 yards.”

As for the health of his hip, reports during the draft suggested that it might’ve been one of the reasons for the safety’s fall. But Rapp declared himself “completely healthy” and noted that he’d been evaluated by the Rams medical staff.

Even with Eric Weddle ahead of him on the depth chart, McVay seemed to suggest on Friday that they see an immediate role for Rapp, whom McVay described as “extremely instinctual.” Given the versatility that Rapp brings to an already strong pair of starting safeties in Weddle and John Johnson, it’s possible that all three may be on the field at the same time during certain personnel groupings in the fall. “The perfect scenario,” Rapp called it.

How the Rams plan to use Henderson, their pick after Rapp, is far less defined. During a short offseason in which the uncertain health of Todd Gurley’s knee has been a lingering concern, trading up to select a top running back prospect is sure to raise some eyebrows.

The Rams gave up two late-third rounders to draft Henderson, who averaged 9.15 yards per carry in his final season at Memphis. It wasn’t so much Henderson’s credentials in question, though, as it was the Rams’ future plans at the position. Not only do the Rams have Gurley, the league’s Offensive Player of the Year in 2017, but earlier in the offseason, the team matched an offer sheet from the Lions for Malcolm Brown to retain him as Gurley’s primary backup.

By drafting Henderson, Snead explained, the Rams were hoping to find the “change-of-pace” back who could also function as a consistent pass-catcher. According to the Rams, the choice was not made with Gurley’s healthy in mind.

“Being able to give somebody a chance to come in and provide a different threat is exactly what we identified,” McVay said, “and he was one of those guys that stood out for us.”

The other positions addressed by the Rams on Friday were much more easily explained. At 5-foot-10, Long is undersized. But as a sticky corner with already-refined man-cover skills, Long could serve as insurance if one of either Marcus Peters or Aqib Talib doesn’t return after next season. According to Pro Football Focus, Long allowed completions on just 28 percent of his targets at Michigan last season.

Evans, meanwhile, appears to be more of a raw offensive tackle prospect, in the same vein as other mid-round linemen that the Rams have drafted to develop in the past. He played primarily tackle at Oklahoma, but could kick inside to guard under the tutelage of offensive line coach Aaron Kromer.

All of four those picks – and the trades that preceded them – were made with a slightly different strategy in mind than any of the past drafts that Snead has been a part of.

“We’re kind of in this moment where we need to sustain,” Snead explained. “But because we have a lot of experienced players on our team, some of the things we need an actually want are more specific than a few years back. That was the intent of the plan.”

Ryan Kartje is a sports features reporter, with a special focus on the NFL and college sports. He has worked for the Orange County Register since 2012, when he was hired as UCLA beat writer. His enterprise work on the rise and fall of the daily fantasy sports industry (http://www.ocregister.com/articles/industry-689093-fantasy-daily.html) was honored in 2015 with an Associated Press Sports Editors’ enterprise award in the highest circulation category. His writing has also been honored by the Football Writers Association of America and the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Ryan worked for the Bloomington (Ind.) Herald-Times and Fox Sports Wisconsin, before moving out west to live by the beach and eat copious amounts of burritos.

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